Spreader for clothes line of the twisted type



May 17, 1960 D. E. TIBERus y SPREADER FOR CLOTHES LINE OF THE TWISTEDTYPE Filed NOV. l, 1954 @may May 17, 1960 D. E. TIBERIIS 2,936,903

SPREADER FOR CLOTHES LINE OF THE TWISTED TYPE Filed NOV. l, 1954 2Sheets-Sheet f2 IMPIE- agissons sPnEADEn Fon onornnsLmn 0.1i l

TWISTED-TSY1PE Y Dennis E. Twents, Rehoboth, Masse, assigner te DemmeManufacturing Company, Providence, Rall, a corporation of Rhode IslandThisinvention relatestov clothes lines, particularlytwisted' clothes:`lines whichv require no pins, andI rel'atesv more especially tospreaders for use withy such twisted clothes lines.

It has long been vproposed todispense WiththeA needs' for clothes pinsybyusingl ai' twisted clothes= linezandsL a spreader; Suchy lines,although obviously desirable, hay not? gone, into widespreadvv use.- Inorder to securelyv ho ther clothes thel twisted; line must be under hightension thus requiring the useof; metal wire, which has arend- ,V v encyto rust; Even iff' galvanized, the washwill bestai'nedl with a graystaine'caused byff the formation oftzi'nc oxid formation alsoincreasesthefriction; andithe7 forc;

need'ed-y to relatively move lthetwisted line andlfitsy spreadevirtually; impossible because o f stainingof the clothes.;-

Moreover, exposed' metal; for the wire` orv spreader or both is cold-rto-the touch; inwinter, andi tendsj'to'freeze' tothe hand of thehousewife.'

The` primary object. of" the', present, invention is tQIgen-j erallyimprove twistedcliothes lines, and more particularly,

the spreader used: with the same. Aj more particu laiobject istoovercome thediflicul'tijes outlinedf abovle`, this purpose I haveimproved beth; the twstedlfne and also the spreader, ,but the twistedline Vis not herein, itjbeihg4 more fully disclosed,V andi Q copendi'ngapplication. Serl. Nb." 465810 rently herewith.VA

TQ accomplish the, other. more; snec'c objects wliehswill; herenater.'ann my 'inyenton ,resides in the, spreader elements.. andi-therelation. oneV to another, asfare hereinafter mqte; ticularly described,in thesfllwirflg sneeica-tion.. 131e snecifcatn. is aceomp,allied.by.,rdrawings-in whiehr? Eig;s l is,a fragmentaryelfvationshowin how, aytwist; ed. line is, spread by. means.V cfa. Spreader in order, to,receive the clothing to be dried;

,Eig.,2 isa front elevation of one form ofspreader ernlr'z,

hedging features of my `invention;` f.

Figi 3 isy affront elevation of, the rotatable core, of the;

spreader; f

Eig. 4tA is; a sectonetakenr approximately in the; planes off thelfner474` oFig.; 2;;1

5;'is1a partiallyi sectioned'frontielevation Vof ya mod-i#I structionusing'- ball hearings and also' usingcontacting rollers;

Fig.4 61 i's-a transverse;v section taken approximately; in thelplaneofthe linef6-6 offFig, 5;

Fig,v 7'i`s. an. exploded View based 0I! Fig',` 5, and eXf planetaryofjhow thepar'tsare assemb.led;L

Fig, 81 is apartially; lentlasten' from. elevatismiv sho-ning; another'.fornr of the inve,111.11211l utilizing; sonteating` tollera.

fro:

periphery of' ring Z4 may be grooved or made concave',v

and Awhich may be applied to an already secured line;

2,936,903 Patentedl May`f 17',y 1.96.05

ice

. 2r Fig: 9 isY a transverse` section taken approximately-'in the planeof the line 9-9 of Fig.y 8; Y

VF-ig. 10 is apartially cutaway front elevation showing a modificationoffthe invention somewhatl like that shown yin Fig: 5v but through whicha twisted line may bepassed and later spread;

Fig. Il isa partiallycut away front elevation' of' a modified` form ofthe invention in which spaced rollers have trunnions andV d'0 not run incontacta Fig; 1f2fvis'- a fragmentary transverse section through thecoreat one of the rollers;

Fig; 1&3 isa partially' cut away front elevation showingstillv'another`-`A form of the invention in whichy self` lubricating pelletsare employed; e

Fig. 14 is av fragmentary section taken through the core atone of thepellets; and

' Fig. 1=5 is al planl view of one of the pellets. Referring to thedrawing, and more particularly to Irthereishowa twisted 'clothes linemade u'p of prend by means of a spreader 2 2Hto-recentie etw enpostsfrear ground level, the spreader- 's shown` in- Fig. 1 it isbeingvn'iovec'fto glthe wash-, and to the left to remove.the.

'dfleliieA -Thisfis-shown in mycompanion application. Seria-lNo 455,870mentioned above. A, KefrringnoWtoil-iigsa 2, 3 and 4f,the'spreader'iftheref shownl comprises a;

core-hasspac'edA` apertures 2S yand- 30 which-passer through the core inthedirection of the axis of the spreader, andI whichreceive the strandsof the twisted line. The ring 24 and the core 26 are made ofaweather-proofY plastic,

. andithe-jstrand bearing parts 2S and 30- are preferably mdeeof aselflubrieating plastic such as nylon or '.[eonegfelheiparticular formof spreader here'shown is-1erjmp-arativelysmall v and simpleinstructure, andv s trand-j-hearing-,parts Z8; andw30 are integral wi th'corei-Zfso'tha't'tlef entire core may bemade of thItIbr-ieatingpIastidf This is of added advantageiinma iti-feasierfforthelfcorefto rotate in contactl with thejning Mythes-latter. being madeof valweather-ptooffplastiee suche as acetate:

it will be seen that the core. 2 6 `n1aylliWQ/lpi'eceswhichseparate on aparting plane' 32, 495g ,The two `pieces are secu-redltogether inedge-toeedge' relation, as 'by Welding or cementing or thev like, orbymeans-ofif'ivets' suchk as those `shown at 34, or both.`'llieitermweldingisused for convcnienceto rnean coher-v ingfthe" by' ars olvent or .by heat. Whenthe tw0 v halvesiof the ring 24 are-securedtogether they forman internal peripheral groove 36A which isdimensionedU t0; receiveI the outer periphery of the core 26.- Theoutside .'Shown at 38 (Fig. 4), to facilitate holding and moving thesame along the line. f

As. so faidescribed it would necessary to AstringI the Y scparatecllendsv of the line through the apertures 28 anrlf and 14'. Thesesecurely hold the corner 1 6:l 'l the' corner*` 18ct a piece of wash 20.'The` 4 tufwillfb' understood that if the line-is fixedlyfij lki'ng italongthe line as the washis hung;

Ifthe 'linefisl an endless line supportedfaround pulley the-'spreadenissecuredV to one of the pulleysrandf movederelative to the spreader,instead'V ofiice'` ring 2d, yandj a circular core Zwhich'e, is'freely'f'rotatably mounted Within the ringv Z4'. Ther..

the: the

if i.

thus to pass the entire line. The' core 26 is notched at diametricallyopposite points, as indicated at 42 and 44 in Fig. 3, instead of havingsimple round holes at 28 and 30. Diiferently expressed, the core 26 isprovided with notches at its periphery which notches lead tov and affordaccess to the apertures 28 and 30.

On reflection it will be evident that the spreader may be applied to analready closed line by simplyv passing one strand through slot 40 intoaperture 28, and then rotating the core for a half turn, thus bringingthe other aperture 30 into registration with the slot 40, -at which timethe other strand is passed into aperture 30. The spreader is then readyfor use. There is no danger of the strands accidentally escaping throughthe solt 40 because the strands are under high tension, and pull towardvthe center of the spreader. However, the spreader can be intentionallyremoved from the line by reversing the process for applying the spreaderto the line previously described.

Referring now to Figs. 8 vand 9 of the drawing, I there show a spreaderwhich is larger in dimension, and improved b-y the addition ofanti-friction rollers 50 and 52 to act as the strand bearing parts ofthe core. The rotatable core 54 is pocketed or hollowed to rotatablyreceive theroller 50 and the roller 52. These rollers are so locatedthat the top of roller 50 comes partway into the passage 56 for strand58, and similarly the bottom of roller 52 comes partway into the passage60 for strand .62. Thus the strands 58 and 62 run on rollers 50 androlling contact, for the `friction of the strands 58 and 62v wouldanyway cause the rollers to rotate in opposite directions at equalspeeds, and thus the rollers are in direct rolling and anti-frictioncontact when the spreader and lineare relatively moved.

For the present purpose the core 54 is molded in two parts which meet ona parting plane 64 (Fig. 9). The

parts may be secured together by welding or cementing, or -by the use ofrivets 66 (Fig. 8), or both, and whenv secured together provide a pocketin which the rollers 50,

and 5'12'are rotatably carried. Similarly the outer ring 68 is molded oftwo parts which separate on plane 64 (Fig. 9 and which are securedtogether by welding orV cementing, or by means of rivets 70 (Fig. 8), orboth. When the parts of ring 68 are secu-red together they form aninternal channel which rotatably receives the pe-` riphery of core 54.

The ring 68 is preferably made of a dimensionally stable andweather-proof plastic such as acetate, acetate butyrate or Lucite(acrylic resin). The core 54 is preferably made of a self-lubricatingplastic such as nylon or Teon, thus tending to insure in the core.

It will lbe understood that by reversing the intert of theA core andring, or, in other words, by providing the ring 68 with an internalbead, and providing the core with an external channel, it would bepossible to mold the ring 68 1n one piece. Differently expressed, themolding of the core in two pieces then ywould serve two purposes,tirstto receive the rollers 50 and 52, and second to help assemble thecore within the ring.

As so far described the passages 56 and 60 might be round aperturesthrough which the separated ends of the strands would be separatelypassed. However, `the spreader may -be arranged so that it can be addedto an free rotation of the core 1n the ring, as well as free rotation ofthe rollersv The rollers .are preferably made of nylon.`

already secured line, just as was described in connection with Fig. v2.Specically, the ring 68 may be slotted at 72 to pass a strand of theline, and the core 54 may be notched at diametrically opposite pointswith notches 55 which lead to the apertures 56 and 60. Thus one strandmay be passed through slot 72 into aperture 56 and in contact withroller 50, whereupon the core 54 may be turned a half turn to permit theother strand to be passed through slot 72 and into aperture 60 incontact with the roller 52. The strands then bear against the rollers,and urge the rollers toward one another because of the constant tendencyof the twisted wire to close when spread.

The core maybe rotated in the ring with the assistance of ball bearings.One form of spreader utilizing ball bearings and rollers is Yshown inFigs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawing. Referring to those figures, thespreader cornprises, as before, a ring 74 and a circular core 76 lfreelyrotatably mounted within the ring 74. The core 76 has spaced apertures78 and 80 passing through the core inv the direction of the axis of thespreader in order to receive the strands 82 and 84 of a twisted line. Inthe present case, however, the inner periphery of ring 74 is grooved at86 (Fig. 6) to form a ball bearing raceway, and the outer periphery ofcore 76 is grooved at 88 to form a 'ball bearing raceway. Ball bearings90 are received in and nearly fill the raceways 86 and 8S, thuslHowever, itis not essential to separate both the coreand the ring inorder to place the balls 90, and it is sucient to split onel or theother if no rollers areused.

The particular spreader here shown is equipped with anti-frictionrollers 98 and 100 which act as the strand bearing surfaces of the core,and which preferably run in rolling contact with one another, as waspreviously described inY connection with Figs. 8 and 9. The rollers maybe received in =a pocket which just fits them, and it is not necessaryto provide a pin or axle for each roller, nor tol provide .integralprojecting trunnions. However, it is necessary to lsplit the core 76,that is to mold it in two parts, and Vwhen this is done it is notnecessary to mold the outer ring 74 in two parts, at least insofar asassembly is concerned, although it still maybe desirable to mold thering in two parts as here shown for ease of mold designl and in order toavoid the need for movable cores. The ring 74 and thecore 76 may bemolded out of a dimensonally stable weather-proof plastic such asacetate or acetate butyrate. The balls 90 may be made of Lucite ornylon. The rollers 98 and 100 may be molded out of nylon.

4It will be noted that the ball bearing form of spreader shown in Figs.5-7 is not provided with a slot and notches to permit application of thespreader to an already secured line. The reason for this is that theball bearing action would not be smooth or satisfactory if the balls hadto run past the slots. The apertures 78 and 80 in Fig. 5 are accordinglyclosed apertures through' which the ends of the line must be separatelypassed.

In Fig. 10 I show a Vmodification of ,the spreader through which theline must be passed, but Without requiring spreading of the ends.Specifically, the spreader of Fig. 10 is like the spreader of Fig- 5 incomprising a core 102 which turns ina ring 104` by means of ballpressed, the core 102A is cut away or hallowed on one side' The ring'74,the core 76, and the balls 90 are` aaacfoos et erertsres 1.0i?lend.1:.1Qby-hi.eene 0f.V e. euri/edv passage 171.21; which connects theoutermost.. portions` of the, aper n n'es,-` leavingthe. retainerpoints, 114 and, 116;A On reection it will be evident that a free end ofthetwited line may be passed through any portion, usually the centerpon-tonni theeurveel passage. 112.. Atseme later time, and evenv afterthe line. has. been secured between posts or around pulleys, the strandsmay be separated at the passage 11,12 until one strand is received inaperture 108f andv ther othen strand is received in aperture 110. Thestrands thenremain in-thev apertures because of their tendencyJv toJclose Y towardthey centery ofi the spreader. If desired the core 102maybe provided with strand bearing rollers 11S-and 120, just as wasdescribed in connection with Fig; n'

The strandbearing rollers have been devoid of bearing pins orvtrunnions,v and have rolled in contactr with one another; considery thisto be a preferred construction, butit is not essential, and strandbearing-rollers may be provided which are. separated froml one another,as shown Figs. l1 and 1,2,of the drawing, Inl thosegures it will be.seen that core 122 rotates within ring 124" on ball bearings 126. yT hecore has apertures 128and130for theV strands of the line. A roller 132is disposed with its top in aperture 128, and a roller 134 is disposedwith its bottom in aperture 130. The rollers 132 and 134 may be formedwith integral trunnions 136, and these are re ceived in bearings formedin the core. Instead of making the rollers with integral trunnions, apin-may be passed through each roller. This pin may be made ofrust-proof metal or of plastics, but I consider the use of integraltrunnions preferable. As before ythe ring and the core may be made of adimensionally stable weather-proof plastic; the balls may be made ofLucite or nylon; and the rollers may be made of nylon. y

It is possible to provide the core with strand bearing surfaces made ofa self-lubricating plastic, without using rollers and yet without makingthe entire corefout ofa self-lubricating plastic. Such a construction isshown in Figs. 13, 14 and l5 in which the core 140 rotates within ring142 on balls 144. The core 140 has apertures 146 and 148 for the strandsof the line. An insert or pellet 150 is so disposed as to occupyv thelower part of passage 146, and similarly a pellet 152 is so vdisposed asto occupy the upper part of passage 148. These pellets preferably haveconvex surfaces in the apertures, and are preferably made of aself-lubricating plastic such as nylon or Teflon. In the particular casehere shown the pellets are circular, as will be seen in Fig. 15, andthey are seated in mating recesses formed inside the core 140, thelatter preferably being molded in two pieces secured together by weldingor cementing or/ and by rivets, all as previously described.

The twisted line 12, 14 shown in Fig. l has not yet been described indetail, but each strand is preferably a high carbon, high tensile steelwire coated with a plastic coating. In a specific case the steel wire is0.063 in diameter and has a tensile strength of 315,000 p.s.i. Theplastic coating is a polyvinyl chloride resin having a thickness of0.0125". The lay of the twist when using such strands is preferably41/2", and may be in a range from 4 to 51/2. A pitch that is muc-hshorter, say 3", will unduly impede the relative movement of the lineand spreader, and'a pitch that is much longer, say 61/2", will not gripthe wash with adequate force to hold under heavy load or high wind.

This coated line has the advantage that it is clean, readily washable,and rust-proof and corrosion-proof. It grips the wash more tightly, yetis softer and less injurious to delicate clothing. Because of theplastics coating itv does not freeze to the hands of the housewife, norto the spreader, nor to pulleys when pulleys are used.

In respect to the spreaders, the ring is preferably lmade of anydimensionally stable and weather-resistant plastic including acetate andacetate butyrate or Lucite (acrylic resin). It could also be made ofnylon or Teon, ex-

cent that these-l plastics. would. be, foe. eestln.. este. in thoseforms; of the, invention which do nott have.

bearings is. preferably madeof a. sem-lubricating plastic.-

suchas nylont or Teon. In hoseforms. WhQlr do have. ballv bearings. the.core. may. be. made. of anyy dimension:l ally. stable.weather-resistant. plastic suchA as. acetate. or acetatey butyrate,lherollersv in those. forms utilizing, rollers, are, preferably made, ofnylon. which is both selft lubricating and hard.Teon.isselfflubricatillgbut.docs.

not wear as well as nylon.. 'Ifhe balls .are preferably madel of; a hardplastic. T hey maybe madeofLucitlet. Balls, made of nylon would be.selflubricating,bnt, more costly, The balls, may be. made of.vr otherplastica. say/acetate butyrateit molded in a. hardow, inorder. to..`produce.. a ball of sutiicienthardness...

The: plastics spreaders,. here. disclosed` are-.ofI particnlar; f

advantage, when used with the.. described. plastics... coated: wire buttheir useis notlimitedto. suchwire., The wire. is not claimedr herein..it being.. elaimedinmy aforesaid. eomnanienapnlication.. Serial No..46.SQ,7Q.J

It isV believen thatthe construction and. methodv ofi assembly. and' useof'myfimproved' spreaders,V as well vas the advantages thereof; will beapparent from the foregoing `detailed description. It will also beapparent that while I have shown and described my improved spreader inseveral preferred forms, changes may be made in the structures shownwithout departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to bedefined in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A spreader for a clothes line of the twisted type, comprising a ring,and a circular core freely rotatably mounted within the ring, said corehavingv spaced apertures passing through the core in the direction ofthe 'axis of the spreader to receive .the strands of the twisted line,said ring being transversely slotted at one point with a slot adapted topass a strand of the line, and'said core being notched at diametricallyopposite points to provide the aforesaid apertures, whereby the spreadermay be applied to a twisted line which has already been secured at bothends.

2. A spreader for a clothes line ofthe twisted type, comprising a'ring,and a circular core freely rotatably mounted within the ring, saidcorehaving spaced apertures passing through the core in the direction of theaxis of the spreader to receive the strands of the twisted line, saidring being transversely slotted at one point with a` slot adapted topass a strandof the line, and said core being .notched at diametricallyopposite points to provide access to the aforesaid apertures, wherebythe spreader may be applied to a twisted line which has already beensecured at both ends, said ring being made of a weatherproof plastic,and the corebeing made of nylon, Teon or like self-lubricating plastic.

3. A spreader'for a clothes line of the twisted type, comprising a ring,a circular core freely rotatably mounted within the ring, said corehaving spaced apertures passing through the core in the direction of theaxis' of the spreader to receive the strands of the twisted line, saidring being transversely slotted at one point with a slot adapted to passa strand of the line, and said core being notched at diametricallyopposite points to provide access to the aforesaid apertures, wherebythe spreader may be applied to a twisted line which has already beensecured at both ends, and a pair of superposed rollers having parallelaxes disposed transversely of the spreader Aairis at said apertures toact as the strand bearing parts ofthe core.

' 4. A spreader for a clothes line of the twisted type, comprising aring, a circular core freely rotatably mounted within the ring, saidcore having spaced apertures passing through the core in the directionof the axis of the spreader to receive the strands of the twisted line,said ring being transversely slotted at one point with a slot adapted topass a strand of the line, and said core being notched at dametricallyopposite points to provide access to the aforesaid apertures, wherebythe spreader maybe applied to a twisted line which has alreadybeenvsecured at both Vends, and a pair of superposed rollers havingparallel axes disposed transversely of the spreader axis at saidapertures to act as' the strand bearing parts of the core, said rollershaving a diameter such that they run in rolling contact against oneanother, and said corek being pocketed to rotatably receive said pair ofcontacting rollers.

5. A' spreader for a clothes line of the twisted type, comprising aring, a circular core freely rotatably mounted within the ring, saidcore having spaced apertures 'passing through the core in the directionof the axis'of the spreader to receive the strands of the twisted line,said ring being transversely slotted at one point with a slot adapted topass a strand of the line, and said core being notched at diametricallyopposite points to provide access to the aforesaid apertures, wherebythe spreader may be applied to a twisted line which has already beensecured at both ends, and a pair of superposed rollers having parallelaxes disposed transversely of the spreader laxis at said apertures toact as the strand bearing parts CII of the core, said rollers having adiameter such that they run in rolling contact against one another, andsaidl core being pocketed to rotatably receive said pair of contactingrollers, said ring and core and rollers all being made of plasticsmaterials.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 646,819Foster Apr. 3, 1900 1,009,006 Young Nov. 14, 1911 2,056,481 Pauli Oct.6, 1936 2,246,086 Austin June 17, 1941 2,287,418 Dudley June 23, 19,42V2,407,387 Seymour -a Sept. 10, 1946 2,407,962 Nason Sept. 17, 19462,455,446 Seymour Dec. 7, 1948 2,503,830 Mackenzie Apr. 1l, 19502,598,404 Mackenzie May 27, 1952 2,599,081 Waddell June 3, 1952l OTHERREFERENCES (Copy in

